Durham, North Carolina — On June 10, 2025, Vulcan Elements CEO John Maslin welcomed Ken Biberaj—host of Coffee with Ken and a business leader with decades of experience in commercial manufacturing—to Vulcan’s headquarters in North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park for an exclusive interview and tour of Vulcan’s small-scale manufacturing facility.
Coffee with Ken is a thought leadership conversation series focused on the issues at the forefront of the public and private sectors and the trends shaping the globe today. Recent guests have included David Rubenstein, Lynn Martin—President of the New York Stock Exchange—Maryland Governor Wes Moore, historian and author Jon Meacham, former Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro, and former United States Senator Joe Manchin.
Maslin and Biberaj’s conversation focused on Vulcan’s innovative manufacturing process, which enables secure, transparent, and traceable rare earth magnet production in the United States. As Maslin put it, “magnets are foundational to our economy and are going exponential because they’re required for the technologies that will allow us to lead the future, from robotics and AI to drones and semiconductors. We need to onshore this capability as quickly as we possibly can. And we need to find ways to do this better and smarter. The intent is not to be an alternative to China that is multiples in cost for the same product; the intent is to leapfrog. We’re finding smarter, faster, and cheaper ways to produce. That’s why this small-scale facility exists.”
They also discussed the strategic and geopolitical significance of onshoring rare earth magnet manufacturing—to enable next-generation military systems and the critical technologies that will drive America’s economic dynamism in the 21st century. Maslin explained the urgency of Vulcan’s mission: “This company is built for America and its allies. If the United States and its friends cannot figure out this supply chain, we lose.”
After the conversation, Maslin demonstrated Vulcan’s manufacturing capabilities, including its alloying, strip casting, and pressing technologies—which leverage Vulcan’s novel processes to secure and accelerate production.
Watch the full interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddexrraRwog
Vulcan Elements manufactures permanent sintered NdFeB magnets for critical defense and commercial applications. Vulcan Elements is committed to strengthening the domestic rare earth magnet supply chain by advancing technological innovations, galvanizing America’s manufacturing workforce, and collaborating with public and private sector stakeholders.
For further inquiries, please contact:
Jonah Glick-Unterman
Chief of Staff
Email: [email protected]
